WASHINGTON — The Smithsonian’s Nationwide Museum of Asian Artwork (NMAA) reopened Saturday, unveiling a headline exhibition of millennia-spanning Korean antiquities and artworks as soon as stored within the personal vaults of the late Samsung Chairman Lee Kun-hee. The present’s debut, delayed by per week, comes on the heels of the longest authorities shutdown in U.S. historical past, which had quickly shuttered establishments reliant on federal funding.
“Korean Treasures: Collected, Cherished, Shared” marks the primary time these works have crossed the ocean since Lee’s household donated his large 23,000-piece assortment to Korea’s state-run museums in 2021 to assist settle the inheritance tax fee, which was the biggest such quantity within the nation’s historical past.
The present brings collectively 330 objects, from the Buddhist statuary of the Three Kingdoms interval (57 B.C.–668 A.D.) and gold-lettered scriptures of the Goryeo Dynasty (918-1392) to the blue-and-white porcelains from the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910) court docket and brushworks by Twentieth-century modernist masters.
Formed via shut collaboration with the Nationwide Museum of Korea and the Nationwide Museum of Fashionable and Modern Artwork — two principal beneficiaries of Lee’s historic bequest — the landmark exhibition additionally options further loans from Seoul’s Leeum Museum of Artwork.
“This would be the largest Korean present we’ve ever accomplished at our museum — and, for a while, a very powerful present of Korean artwork in the USA,” NMAA Director Chase F. Robinson advised The Korea Instances in an interview in Could. “It’s meant to be complete, so it introduces the chronological breadth, the vary of media and the variety of contexts [in which this art once lived]: scholarly, spiritual and royal.”
The exhibition options “chaekgado,” a Nineteenth-century painted nonetheless lifetime of scholarly accoutrements symbolizing the fabric aspirations of a discovered family. Courtesy of Nationwide Museum of Asian Artwork, Smithsonian Establishment
The 330 objects on view are organized thematically throughout 10 galleries: royal palaces, Buddhist temples, Confucian academies and students’ “sarangbang” studios.
Every gallery illuminates a special face of Korea, from ruling officers captured in stately portraits to aristocrats pursuing Confucian beliefs via literati brushwork. One room turns to the elegant splendor of the Joseon court docket, whereas one other immerses guests in Buddhist artwork, exploring the faith’s deep roots in Korean non secular life.
The exhibition is bookended by “chaekgado,” a Nineteenth-century painted nonetheless lifetime of scholarly accoutrements symbolizing the fabric aspirations of a discovered family, paired with the museum’s 3D interpretation of the motif utilizing Lee’s personal objects. Collectively, they gesture towards the nation’s lengthy custom of accumulating and connoisseurship.
Such a format, based on curators, is meant as an accessible threshold right into a cultural legacy that stretches throughout a broad span of time, particularly for American audiences who could know Korea primarily via its pop-culture exports.
The museum presents its 3D interpretation of “chaekgado,” utilizing actual objects from the Lee Kun-hee assortment. Courtesy of Nationwide Museum of Asian Artwork, Smithsonian Establishment
“There may be already a normal reputation of Korean widespread tradition. However what we hope is so as to add slightly extra depth of information, understanding and appreciation of Korean tradition for the general public,” mentioned Carol Huh, affiliate curator of up to date Asian artwork, talking forward of the present’s opening.
“By creating thematic galleries, we thought we might assist guests perceive the unique contexts the place these objects have been used, made and sponsored,” added Hwang Solar-woo, the NMAA’s inaugural curator of Korean artwork and tradition.
Hwang famous that “Korean Treasures” additionally holds significance for the museum itself, as its practically 800-piece Korean holdings lean closely towards Goryeo-era celadon.
“This presents a uncommon alternative for us to introduce quite a lot of Korean artwork directly. Additionally it is the primary event the place we’re presenting conventional artistic endeavors alongside the trendy and modern,” she famous, pointing to the exhibition’s cross-temporal juxtapositions — as an illustration, painter Park Dae-sung’s modern ink-wash rendering of Gyeongbok Palace positioned in dialogue with Joseon court docket artwork.
Different highlights embrace 18th-century painter Jeong Seon’s “Clearing After Rain on Mount Inwang,” a state-designated Nationwide Treasure, and a luminous Joseon-era moon jar paired with a portray by modernist abstractionist Kim Whanki.
Following its run on the Smithsonian via Feb. 1, 2026, “Korean Treasures” will journey to the Artwork Institute of Chicago and the British Museum.
